Country book · Europe

Lithuania

Baroque spires and the last pagans of Europe

Lithuania was Europe's last country to convert to Christianity and once ruled an empire stretching to the Black Sea. Today it pairs a beautifully restored Baroque capital with basketball obsession and a coastline of shifting sand dunes.

Myths

What's true, what isn't

Actually true

Lithuania was the last pagan country in Europe
It didn't formally convert to Christianity until 1387, holding onto Baltic pagan traditions longer than any other European state.
It once ruled one of Europe's largest empires
The Grand Duchy of Lithuania stretched from the Baltic to the Black Sea at its height in the 15th century.
Basketball is genuinely a national obsession
Lithuania has won multiple European championships and Olympic medals, and courts appear in nearly every town.
The Curonian Spit has genuine shifting sand dunes
This UNESCO-listed peninsula has some of Europe's tallest drifting dunes, some over 60 meters high.

Commonly believed, wrong

"Lithuania is basically Poland or Russia"
It has its own ancient Baltic language, one of the oldest living Indo-European languages, unrelated to Slavic tongues.
"It's flat and forgettable scenically"
The Curonian Spit's dunes and Aukštaitija's lakeland forests offer real geographic drama.
"It was always part of the Soviet Union willingly"
Lithuania was the first Soviet republic to declare independence, in 1990, following decades of resistance.
"Vilnius is a gray post-Soviet city"
Its Old Town is one of the largest Baroque old towns in Eastern Europe, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Highlights

The best of Lithuania

Vilnius Old Town

Baroque churches, courtyards and cobblestone lanes across one of Europe's largest historic centers.

The Curonian Spit

A 98-kilometer sand-dune peninsula shared with Russia, pine forests giving way to towering dunes.

Trakai Island Castle

A red-brick castle rebuilt on a lake island near Vilnius.

Hill of Crosses

Tens of thousands of crosses planted by pilgrims over centuries near Šiauliai.

Culture

Cultural riches

Amber along the Baltic

Palanga's amber museum and beaches carry on millennia of Baltic amber trade.

Song and dance festivals

A UNESCO-recognized tradition of massed choirs and folk dancers gathering every few years.

Basketball culture

Courts fill nearly every town square, and matches against rivals draw entire communities.

Baroque architecture

Vilnius University and St. Peter and St. Paul's Church show off Lithuania's Baroque golden age.

Food

What to eat

Cepelinai

Potato dumplings stuffed with meat, named for their zeppelin-like shape, topped with bacon and sour cream.

Šaltibarščiai

A vivid pink cold beet soup with kefir, served in summer with boiled potatoes.

Kugelis

A baked potato pudding, dense and savory, often served with cracklings.

Šakotis

A spit cake with spiky, tree-like branches, baked for weddings and holidays.

Kibinai

Karaim pastries stuffed with minced meat, a Trakai specialty with Crimean roots.

History

Important people in history

Grand Duke Gediminas

c. 1275 — 1341

Founder of Vilnius and expander of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania into a major European power.

Vytautas the Great

1350 — 1430

Presided over Lithuania's largest territorial extent, from the Baltic to the Black Sea.

Vytautas Landsbergis

b. 1932

Led Lithuania's peaceful drive to independence from the Soviet Union in 1990.

Cities